Clouded Veil
by Clear Lights in the Night
Summary: Elders. What use are they but die. ThunderClan, full of youth, had grown to forget their only elder, and classify him as mad. It was all until a young apprentice named Ashpaw befriends the seemingly "mad" old one. And he soon discovers that elders would be the key to stopping the greatest fall in the history of the Clans. "Wisdom is the key to salvation…"


Clouded Veil

Summary: Elders. Seemingly the most useless part of the Clan. What use are they but to take prey from the pile and sun themselves on top the rocks. ThunderClan, full of youth, had grown to forget their only elder, and classify him as mad. It was all until a young apprentice named Ashpaw befriends the seemingly "mad" old one. And he soon discovers that elders would be the key to stopping the greatest fall in the history of the Clans. _"Wisdom is the key to salvation…"_

_Set long after the events of Last Hope._

Chapter 1

Young, bright and beautiful.

The perfect words to describe this day. Life zoomed in the midst of ThunderClan. Apprentices and Warriors alike were filled to the brim with happiness. They were sharing prey, telling tales, and just plain doing what a Clan does best. Enjoying life.

And there lay in the middle, sitting on top a ledge of fallen rocks, a brown tabby, and youth full on his features. His muzzle, paws and tail, all splashed with white. His tail, bent at the tip, swirling around like a branch.

A young solid grey cat, smile on his face, trotted near the brown tabby. "Branchstar!" he called, climbing on top the meeting place for ThunderClan –the High Ledge.

The leader did chuckle as he the young grey tom hopped up, his fur all ruffled. "Yes, Ashpaw?" he answered in a question.

The grey solid did a smile even brighter than the one before. It wasn't really a normal smile. It was more like a puppy-dog pleading smile. "Now I know I'm still 7 moons and all…" the tom trailed off, his eyes, color of the sun, widening to hopefully look pleading. "But, can you make, just a little bit, maybe even a tiny little ounce-"

"Get to the point now," Branchstar interrupted, firm although amusement was running through his words. "No need to sweeten things up."

Ashpaw nodded vigorously and got to the point. "Can you, um, shortenmywaittobeassessed?" He said, too fast for the leader to hear properly.

"Speak up now," the leader did say.

The grey apprentice sucked a breath, and said. "Branchstar, can I please be assessed earlier than my sisters?"

The leader looked behind the apprentice, seeing that his two sisters and their mentors were having a little chat. His sisters -a grey and white she-cat called Rainpaw and a grey tabby she-cat named Dewpaw- were talking to two of ThunderClan's best Warriors, known to all the Clans as ThunderClan's Great Two -Quickleap and Featherstep-. Quickleap and Featherstep were both golden tabby toms, lithe and fast in shape.

The leader did wonder why he appointed them as the two she-cat's mentors, for all of the four were all prideful and arrogant.

Ashpaw's mentor was more of a proper choice. Ashpaw was diligent and the youngest of his litter. He had smarts, and the leader knew it. Yes, he could get rather hyper at times, but he was a good pupil nonetheless. He had appointed Robinsong his mentor.

She was a good and smart cat, wise and patient. A tortoiseshell she-cat she was.

He may or may not have felt left out when he appointed his sisters with the two best fighters in the Clan. Asking the leader to make him a Warrior earlier may have been a hasty choice, but it was understandable.

After pondering it for a while, the brown tabby answered. "We'll see, Ashpaw. Don't you have something to do with Robinsong?"

The ashen-colored apprentice bowed his head and sighed. Of course he wasn't going to get what he wanted. He dipped his head to the leader before bounding down towards his sisters.

"Hey Ashy!" Rainpaw called. Ashpaw raised his head towards his sisters and their mentors.

He wanted to hiss. _Ashy. _Can you believe it? His sisters and their mentors had given him a nickname. And it was terrible.

"What?" He responded grumpily.

"Me, Dewpaw and the Great Two are heading out for training." She said, already stalking off with the group. "Don't hold up!"

The apprentice watched his sisters and their mentors snicker as they excited through the bramble tunnel.

He sighed, ducked his head, and groggily went off to find Robinsong.

He found his mentor chatting with Lightningstripe, the big, golden-hued, father of the Great Two.

Ashpaw sighed.

Lightningstripe was a playboy. It seemed like he ate she-cats for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sadly, after a short encounter with the mother of the Great Two -whose identity is still unknown-, he had created the two most arrogant Warriors on the planet.

He just hoped Robinsong wouldn't end up in the Nursery.

He mustered up a pepped-up face, hoping it disguised the anguish he felt after the talk with Branchstar. He totted towards the two, eyes darkening with disgust as Lightningstripe rubbed his tail against his mentors flank. _Eww._

"Hey Robinsong!" He called, seemingly enthusiastic.

The tortoiseshell she-cat moved her eyes at Ashpaw, although it was clear that all her attention was at the golden tabby in front of her. "Uh, hey Ashpaw," She greeted absentmindedly. "What do you want?"

His eyes turned away in an awkward manner. "I just wanted to know if we were going to do some training or junk."

Even with his eyes turned away, he could feel the stare of Lightningstripe boring a whole through him. He could feel the golden tom narrowing his eyes.

"Uh huh," Robinsong said, again getting into a trance from looking at the handsome golden tom. "I can't right now. Why don't you, uh, do stuff for Madnight."

Madnight was the only elder in the Clan. It was odd, how his name was Madnight. But it wasn't that odd. He and his sisters were sent to fetch new bedding for him once or twice. Usually, it was Rainpaw or Dewpaw who had to stay behind to roll up all that soiled moss. When they had finished the job, his sisters always said the remaining two were lucky. Apparently, the old fool kept blabbering about the sun and how it will burn us.

He sighed and shrugged at the same time. He padded away to the elder's den, leaving the dazed Robinsong and Lightningstripe.

Hey, maybe he would learn something.


End file.
